


Mabon

by crimsonherbarium



Series: Wheel of the Year [6]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game)
Genre: Ficlet, Folk Music, M/M, Mabon - Freeform, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Post-Coital Cuddling, Sharing a Bed, Short & Sweet, Singing, Wheel of the Year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 07:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20720327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsonherbarium/pseuds/crimsonherbarium
Summary: A simple, quiet moment between two lovers on the night of the autumn equinox.





	Mabon

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a bit different from the usual fare for this series--life has been whacking me repeatedly in the back of the head with a STOP sign lately, and as a result smut isn't coming easily to me right now. I hope that you enjoy this little ficlet regardless; it's only fitting that today (Mabon) is the first real chilly day of the year where I live, and this sort of weather always puts me in the mood for a good wistful folk song.

Another harvest. Another contract. Another rented bed in a seedy tavern, just barely large enough to accommodate the both of them.

Lambert sighed as he curled in against Aiden that night, feeling a strange ache in his chest at the feeling of his arms wrapped tightly around his waist. He bore no mind to skin still damp with sweat, nor the way the tangled sheets failed to cover their naked bodies. None of that mattered in the same way as Aiden’s warm breath against his skin or his heart beating powerfully under his cheek as his breathing slowly returned to normal.

The scent of spiced wine and cider, of chicken fat imbued with rosemary, and of apples roasting on the fire drifted in through the open window. Below, lights glowed softly across the sleeping city as it fell away like embers scattered in a grate. Though it was well into the harvest season by now, this was the first properly cold night of autumn. The chill of the gentle breeze raised goosebumps on Lambert’s exposed skin, and Aiden pulled him closer.

He couldn’t have said when he drifted off, listening to the distant sounds of the ships at the docks and the soft rhythm of Aiden’s breathing. When he awoke once more, the moon was long gone and the sun was still quite a long way from rising. The candle on the dresser had burnt down to naught but a stub, wax pooling on the rough wood.

Lambert shifted against Aiden’s form, realizing as he looked up blearily that the other man was awake. He gazed up at the ceiling, his face lined with sorrow.

“S’wrong?” Lambert mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

“Not a thing.” Aiden’s hand found Lambert’s, his thumb worrying at the silver band on his finger. “Don’t worry. You can go back to sleep.”

“Like hell.” Lambert retorted, suddenly feeling much more awake. He reached up and traced the line of Aiden’s jaw with his fingertips, trailing down the scars that ran across his neck and down over his collarbone. “What happened?”

“Strange dreams,” Aiden said simply, and left it at that.

That, at least, Lambert could understand. He let his palm rest on Aiden’s chest, over his heart. Aiden sighed.

"Do you ever dream about your old life?" he said after a while, raising Lambert back out of the fog of sleep he'd nearly succumbed to once more.

"You mean before the Trials?"

Aiden nodded.

"Sometimes. Can't say they're pleasant, though. I've told you what things were like, living in that house..."

Aiden hummed softly in agreement.

"Did you dream about then? About Lyria?"

Aiden nodded again.

"Want to talk about it?"

Aiden bit his lip, looking as if he were searching and failing to find the right words. "It wasn't bad, just...bittersweet. A glimpse here and there. I don't remember the rest of the dream, but a song came back to me..." He sighed. "I don't know. I suppose it must have been sung to me, once upon a time."

"Sing it for me?" Lambert looked away when he asked, feeling oddly embarrassed. For some reason, that simple request made him feel so much more vulnerable than the nakedness of his body.

Aiden hummed to himself quietly, finding the melody. After a time, he breathed in deeply, his chest rising under Lambert's cheek, and began to sing.

_By Logan's streams, that run so deep_  
_ O'er after wi' glee I've herded sheep;_  
_ Herded sheep, or gathered sighs_  
_ With my dear lad on Logan braes..._

The rich honey of his voice sank into a deep Lyrian brogue as he committed to the wistful melody, the hum of it reverberating through Lambert's body. It felt as though the world fell away in that moment—the muffled sounds of the merrymakers in the tavern below, the omnipresent hum of their medallions in response to the energy of the equinox, the scuttle of mice within the walls. There was only the two of them, tangled up in each other in the low light of a single flickering candle, and the song.

_Nae more at Logan church will he_  
_ 'Atween the preachings, meet wi' me_  
_ Meet wi' me, or when it's dark_  
_ Convey me home from Logan church_  
_ I well may sing, the days are gone;_  
_ From church and fair I come alone_  
_ While my dear lad may face his foes,_  
_ Far, far, from me and Logan braes..._

Somewhere in the thick of it, Aiden's hand came up to stroke Lambert's hair, fingers carding softly along his scalp in rhythm with the song. Lambert melted into it, treasuring this one perfect moment in a lifetime of hardship and turmoil, hardly daring to breathe lest it collapse around him. His heart ached in his chest.

_At evenin', when hope almost is gone,_  
_ I wander, dreary an' forlorn,_  
_ Or sit beneath the trystin-tree_  
_ Where first he spake o' love to me._  
_ Oh, Could I see the days again_  
_ My lover skaithless, an' my own_  
_ Revered by friends, an' far from foes_  
_ We'd live in bliss on Logan braes._

The last note hung heavy in the air as Aiden's voice slowly faded, and Lambert found himself aware of his surroundings once more. He shivered at the slight chill that seeped in through the window, and Aiden pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to his temple.

"I love you," Lambert murmured, because it was true, and because it felt it so strongly in that particular moment that it almost pained him. He found himself wishing that he'd asked Aiden to sing for him a long time ago.

He could hear the slight smile in Aiden's voice when he responded. "I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> The song Aiden is singing in this piece is called ["Logan Water."](https://youtu.be/N5wt1lqhmgY) Unfortunately it's nigh impossible to find a recorded version that uses the lyrics I wanted to use here, but it's such a beautiful tune I couldn't let go of it (a close runner-up was "Black is the Color"). 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this little piece even though it wasn't the usual smut. I have something big planned for Samhain, so hopefully that makes up for it. <3


End file.
